The invention relates to a method for setting up a communication appliance having an emergency battery, to such a communication appliance and to a battery pack which is provided for the communication appliance.
For the purposes of the present invention, the term communication appliance should be understood to mean various apparatuses. For example, the communication appliance may be an appliance for a car telephone system, in which case the communication appliance is then supplied mainly from the motor vehicle battery and is connected to a telephone handset and to a plurality of antennas, one of which may be an emergency antenna which is preferably located in the interior of the motor vehicle. The other antennas, which are arranged on the outside of the motor vehicle, may be, for example, a GSM (Global System for Mobile Communication) antenna or a GPS (Global Positioning System) antenna.
On the other hand, for the purposes of the invention, a communication appliance may alternatively be understood to mean a portable radio telephone or a mobile phone which has an emergency battery in addition to the normal battery.
Such communication appliances are being used increasingly these days, even to provide safety-relevant services. These safety-relevant services may be the transmission of specific help signals to a service station or a help organization, so that it is necessary to ensure that it is still possible to transmit such help signals, for example, even after a motor vehicle accident or after the main supply battery has been operated for a relatively long period.
If an emergency situation occurs and the main supply battery is no longer ready to operate, then, in general, a change is made to the emergency battery. In this case, it is assumed that the emergency battery can then still supply sufficient energy to transmit the help signals.
As a rule, the charge state of the emergency battery is monitored continuously, with the information relating to this being buffer-stored in a memory. If the charge state falls or if battery replacement is required, then this can be indicated by appropriate warning signals. In this case, the old emergency battery should be replaced by a new emergency battery, since this is the only way to ensure that, if necessary, help signals can be sent even over a lengthy time period.
The invention is based on the object, for checking that an emergency battery which has been inserted into a communication appliance has not yet been used, of specifying a method which is suitable for this purpose as well as a suitable communication appliance and, not least, a battery pack which is adapted to this purpose for the communication appliance.
The appropriate solutions are contained in claims 1, 11 and 19. Advantageous refinements of the invention can be found in the respective dependent sub-claims.
A method according to the invention for setting up a communication appliance comprises the following steps: an emergency battery which is provided with an electronically readable nominal coding is inserted in the communication appliance; if the emergency battery has the nominal coding during a subsequent read process, a new battery identification signal is produced and, after identifying the nominal coding, this coding is converted into a different coding.
In other words, if an emergency battery which has not yet been used and is brand new is inserted in the communication appliance, then this is initially accepted by the identification of the nominal coding, but is then immediately cancelled in that the nominal coding is changed and is replaced by a different coding. In an emergency, the emergency battery which has been inserted can now be accessed at any time. This ensures that the communication appliance is fully ready for operation, since the emergency battery has not yet been discharged at all.
The use of an emergency battery which no longer has the nominal coding can thus, in certain circumstances, be prevented. A plurality of cases would be feasible.
If an emergency battery which has been inserted were, for example, to be removed from the communication appliance and to be reinserted again immediately, and if the reading of the nominal coding were to be initiated once again whenever an emergency battery was newly inserted, then the emergency battery which had then been inserted into the communication appliance for a second time would no longer be accepted by it since it no longer has the nominal coding. In fact, when it was first inserted, this was converted into a different coding, so that when it was inserted for a second time, the new battery identification signal is no longer produced. In fact, a warning signal could now be emitted, and the user could be requested to insert an emergency battery which is actually new, and which still has the nominal coding.
Alternatively, it would be feasible, after the initial insertion of a new emergency battery and the reading of its nominal coding, to suppress further read cycles of the nominal coding for a specific time period, so that it would be possible to remove the emergency battery briefly and reinsert it during this time period without a warning signal being produced. However, in this case, it would be necessary to ensure in a different way that the newly inserted emergency battery which no longer has the nominal coding still has a sufficiently high charge state. The end of the specific time period occurs when the device produces a new battery request signal, that is to say provides a reminder to replace the emergency battery. The new battery request signal is produced, for example, when it has been used for emergency purposes a given number of times, the operating duration has reached a predetermined value, the no-load voltage of the emergency battery has fallen to zero, etc. The protection function which is achieved by converting the nominal coding into a different coding would then, in this case, occur only after the specific time period had elapsed.
The new battery identification signal may, for example, be buffer-stored and, in the last-mentioned case, would not be erased until after the predetermined time period had elapsed.
Information corresponding to the charge state of the emergency battery can be stored in a memory, in which case the memory may also contain a counter which, for example, stores the operating duration of the emergency battery, for example by counting the operating hours. In this case, the new battery request signal can be produced once the charge state of the emergency battery has fallen below a predetermined value or its operating duration has exceeded a further predetermined value. A read process for reading the nominal code of the emergency battery can thus be carried out as a function of the new battery request signal, for example when the new battery request signal appears. The new battery request signal thus defines the end of the time period which has already been mentioned above, after which the full protection function is achieved.
According to an advantageous refinement of the invention, once the nominal coding of the emergency battery has been identified, the memory in which information about the charge state of the previously used emergency battery is stored is erased, in order now to allow information to be stored about the charge state of the newly inserted emergency battery. Instead of erasing the memory, the information can be saved in a further memory in order to allow subsequent checking of all the operating states of the device, if this is necessary.
The nominal coding may be contained, for example, in a programmable electronic memory which is reprogrammed once the new battery identification signal has been produced, so that it now no longer contains the nominal coding but a different, or converted, coding.
Alternatively, the nominal coding could, however, also be provided by a conductive fuse, in which case the fuse is interrupted once the nominal coding has been identified. In the case of a fuse link, the fuse could blow for this purpose.
A communication appliance according to the invention contains an emergency battery which can be inserted and is provided with an electronically readable nominal coding; a read device for identifying the nominal coding or a different coding; a signal generating device for producing a new battery identification signal when the nominal coding is identified and, possibly, for producing a warning signal if the nominal coding is not identified; as well as a write device which, once the nominal coding has been identified, converts this coding into a different coding.
The emergency battery itself may contain one or more battery cells. In this case, only a single nominal coding is provided, preferably and not least for financial reasons. All the battery cells are thus tested at the same time by checking the nominal coding. In this case, the electrically readable nominal coding may be arranged, for example, immediately on one of these battery cells. However, it is also possible to apply the electronically readable nominal coding to a battery pack in which the battery cells are located. This battery pack is then supplied from the factory with the battery cells and the integrated nominal coding.
A particularly advantageous battery pack has a housing which accommodates the battery cells, to which housing the electronically readable nominal coding is applied. This housing may also be a shrink film or some other suitable container. In this case, the nominal coding may be located in the interior of the battery pack, so that it thus cannot be readily damaged. The battery pack itself has two supply connections (+ and xe2x88x92), between which the terminals of the battery cells are located and which can be connected to corresponding connections of the communication appliance. Furthermore, a third connection is preferably located on the battery pack, between which and one of the other battery connections the nominal coding is present, for example in the form of a fuse link.